Tower Ravens AGM Minutes 12th September 2016	
1. Present: Katherine, Rachel, Jo, Hannah, Ffion, Sue, Kate, Rachel-Anne, Laura W., Becky
Apologies- Roseanna, Reesha, Laura S
2015 Minutes ratified
Reports:
Foreperson- Katherine
Thankyou, I have learnt a lot this year. Did better at Dert than in previous years, reflects our overall improvement. More people at a hgher standard- 9 people competed on the day proves this. Positive changes to the dance (double tumble etc) have achieved alot of what she intended at beginning of year. More people at more numbers makes dance out easier. Can go to lots of dance outs but often have minimal numbers so last minute cancellations can happen. Day of dance was awesome.
Secretary-  Becky
14 dance outs not including crawls. 10 declined (5 not enough people, 4 location, 1 by choice). Highlights of the year include going to Sheffield, our own Day of Dance and Ossett. Thanks to every one for their co-operation and help so we can achieve these. Discussion of anything secretary can do to make people better at signing up - emphasise the usefulness of travel times etc.
Hannorah enters stage left (lol) comes bearing prosecco (obviously)
Treasurer- Sue
 Interim report as financial year ends end of October (do we need to change this?) 
*Hannorah demands a goblet of wine* 

Annual balances show us to be making money each year. Subs balancing hall hire still but making more on crawl money than before (anticipate £1800 by end of financial year)DERT registration a lot more expensive, everything else rather similar. (See report for full details)Do we need all of this money?
Bank statement checked against report by committee.
Open morris still fine, can get individual insurance if we want.
Encourage people to go out with lots of tankards immediately after dancing is the way forward. Gets the most money.
Last year decided subs remain the same.
What shall we do with the oyster card debt Thrales- think about £30 they owe us. Shall we cancel off? They've helped us so much we'll leave it with them. May need to use cards again at which point it might naturally come up.
Appeal to bring tankards, we seem to have so many now! 

Tour Organisers- Hannorah and co.
Hannorah- self elected crappest organiser (her own words)
Generally the committe works much better than one person to try and take it all on. Really good around DERT, although this weakened over the summer, need to try and keep momentum going.
Timing on crawls as well as collecting much better. Should pre-organise now crawls for up until xmas/DERT

Kit Keeper-Kate

Running low on kit.
Rachel-Anne has no kit, Hannah's sash is massive. Kate finds hard that as she lives so far away, unless at least three hours notice she can't bring kit because she will have already left.

Publicity Officers- Laura (in absentia)

Thank you to everyone helping on social media (FB and twitter). Feels hasn't achieved much, feels may have been detrimental as was slow about posting things. Wants to step down if someone will take on the role, still happy to help with design etc.

Nominations and voting:

Foreperson: Katherine doesn't want to stand again.
Rachel/Hannorah nominated Rachel
Ffion nominated Becky
Hannorah nominates Ffion, Ffion declines.
Becky has an illprepared schpiel
Rachel Schpiel: want to improve more and consoliating learning more positions and focusing on stepping. Keep going with what we're doing.
Votes cast- Becky voted in
Thanks to Katherine, Hannorah opens her bubbly to celebrate for herself.

Secretary:
Nominate Hannah. Laura W seconded. All agree.

Treasurer: Becky nominate Sue, hannah seconds. All agree.

Tour Organisers: 
Are current people happy to continue? Hannorah, Ffion, Laura W.  Katherine will take up the final position that was Janet.

Kit Keeper: Kate stil has space in her house, if anyone wants it they can have it. Expand role to include checking kit while we're out. Becky nominate Kate, Katherine seconds, all happy.

Publicity Officer- Ffion nominated and seconded. All happy. Well done for all of Laura's good work. All love hoodies in particular

1. Tours- Happy with when and where.
Fridays/Thursdays in run up to DERT still a good option (Kate notes she might not be able to make all Fridays).

2. DERT
Enter competitively yes- happy for piccadilly plus modifications.
Laura S. happy to lead trad- stick with same? Seems a shame to change. Only so much we can do to develop the dance. Removal/mastering of chain. Seems a shame to stop doing it- ffion points out we're one of the few teams in the world that does! 
Is Laura S. ok to lead it while not always at practice (only available alternate) Choose someone to delegate alternate weeks to. Westerhope plan to be shared with another westerhoper so can cont. to practice while she isn't there but to her plan.
Happy with five dancers, then spotlight and trad. Don't make one person watch bags, Hannah got stuck this year and it made the afternoon crap.
Make an advanced idea of what people need to work onto get into DERT set before, rather than just announcing it.
Aim is to work hard prior to DERT to make the dance the best we can but then try and have fun on the day. If so would it make more sense to change the team up throughout the day? Concerns we're then doing the team a disservice as can't dance as well with changing dancers. 
Vote: Five main dancers wins over changing dancers.
Public liability up to date.
Show case plans. Double jubilee/ picadilly. Try and do a double jubilee at Thrales day as a practice. If we keep doing it and perform it out a few times that'd be good. Displays our competition dance but also we're really good at this. Do a giant lock at the end. Boom. 
How to do better- try and relax more. Hard to do without a reputation, although it is growing, Tommy is a focal thing, can we support Tommy more? We appeal to none folkies as we're so fun, a  bit American. Need to practice smiling. Must be less self-depricating.

3. Dances
Keep jubilee as main dance while having Picadilly as competition dance
Hannorah hates walk the dog, seconded by Laura W. Egg whisk instead? Although quite similar? Could sytlisctially look better, be snappier. People complacent about Jubilee, should dance with more vigour. Change up to keep us thinking more. 
Betty/other tommy characters- two characters unneccessary. Sue has a strong individual narrative. Hannhorah happy to be reserve Tommy/cahracter in Westerhope.
 
4. Bank
Subsidising is good. Could we do more for trains and accomodation. Can we do up to cheapest fare for trains? (i.e. still don't pay for people who don't bother to book their tickets until the last minute and therefore have to spend a lot more.
Keep subs the same but look to be more generous with transport/accommodation subsidies
Keep £1000 as safety.
Could buy more rounds- as rewards!
Happy with the idea of giving to charity at christmas. Leave deciding charity till later, choose a different charity to give to from last year.
DoD was really fun. Do this again but with blokes (says Hannorah) two female teams were very similar. Maybe Northgate? Do a month after DERT, this year in May? For a Dod it's hard to have more than one team at a time invited due to how many can dance in one pub. Could we have more than one DoD? Do dod a month after DERT. See about multiple teams or doing another.
All happy with lack of involvement in Open Morris. Are we happy not being members of sword dance union. Hannah to research what being part of SDU means? How much? JDO? Morris dancers organise festivals, would it help?
Laura w and Jo leaving apologies.

5. Kit - Hannah needs kit - Sineads does all fit Hannah. Can we ask for hers back as she hasn't been dancing out? Is Janets kit back?
Hannah, Hannorah both need skirts. Email out to see who needs new kit esp. skirts. Hannorah asks for costing on skirt making at nearby tailors.
Trad kit can only be organised with Laura S.

6. Music- No-one all that keen. Hannah happy to bring to help for music.
ASK CAROL. to help as  aDERT musician? Happy with the idea of inviting people as a second musician? Melodeon and fiddle go well. Too many musicians is not ok as drives away from dance. Kate happy for other musicians but we would need to find themas she doesn't know people in the area. Two the ideal. Must have people there for practices before hand so all gells well together.

7. Festivals- 
Weekend events better than week long. Ask Bromyard (Hannah).
We have to ask to do things, they're not going to just invite us, rather it would them doing us a favour as it would help us if we were invited. Shrewsbury, Warwick, Chippenham, Towersy, Folk East, Ely, Oxford. 
Aim to do Chippenham (self invited)  27th-29th May. Ask to go and get half price tickets including camping. Bromyard could work well.
Other dance styles - can clog but depends on people we have and whether we want the break. 
Long sword is most fitting filler. Do we have time to do this well? Jubliee, Picaddilly, Westerhope, do we have time for long sword as well? Is it worth giving it a go? See if we're any good at it. Totally separate day needed, not part of monday practice. Don't worry about it if it doesn't work.

8. Team Improvements:
Weak points: stepping, speeding up, look at how people do the figures we do and how that can improve. Look at American teams as that is what we look like. Keep film clips focussed, make a link start at a particular point so can just watch a figure.
Crisp
Try and people have learn new positions. Make it clear what they would like to do. Includes people at tumbling/ calling.

9. Admin:
Happy with post DERT EGM. AGM to be in the Autumn, to be decided by foreperson and secretary nearer the time.
Remove some people from email list. Ask if they want to stay on, secretary will send the email and Ffion will remove anyone who doesn't reply.

10. AOB:
SPAM on emails- talk to Dan about sorting out filters.